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Liquor barons taking over Sivagiri mutt: Azhikode

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The Sivagiri mutt in Kerala, which has been witnessing an intense power struggle between two sections of sanyasins owing allegiance to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Bharatiya Janata Party for the past four years, is likely to witness a battle against the liquor lobby now.

Noted writer and orator Sukumar Azhikode, who resigned as the chairman of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sanghom Advisory Committee, has termed the mutt as a haven of liquor barons. He called for a struggle to liberate the mutt from the "clutches of the liquor lobby."

Azhikode said he had resigned to protest the presence of liquor barons in the bodies attached to the mutt.

The mutt is the resting-place of Kerala's most renowned social reformer and religious head of the Ezhava community, Sree Narayana Guru. It is the administrative headquarters of various social and educational institutions in the state.

The advisory committee under Azhikode was constituted after the state took over the mutt's administration following a power struggle between sanyasins. The government extended its term, as the dispute between the two groups is still pending in court.

The government-appointed administrator, Dr M Sarangadharan, too had resigned with Azhikode.

The immediate provocation for Azhikode was the induction of a liquor contractor from Thrissur into the executive council of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, which has overall control over various institutions. What irked Azhikode the most was that the contractor was involved in several cases, including one for selling toddy mixed with a poisonous chemical. He was nominated by Yogam president Vellapally Natesan, who is another liquor baron from Alappuzha.

Azhikode's decision to resign is unlikely to carry much credibility since he has been working with Natesan for the last two years. Natesan, who had openly taken on Congress MP V M Sudheeran for his campaign against the liquor lobby, was recently re-elected as the Yogam president. Azhikode had accepted the position knowing fully well that he had to work with Natesan.

Though many Sree Narayana devotees view his resignation as an act of hypocrisy, Azhikode has been vociferous against the liquor-religion mix. He had kicked up a controversy last year by questioning the moral authority of the Christian church to fight against liquor consumption as he felt the majority of the clergy, including bishops were alcoholics. This had evoked strong protests from the Church and led many Christians to initiate legal action against Azhikode.

He believes that unlike Muslims, the Hindus and Christians are highly hypocritical in their stand on alcohol consumption. He felt there was no justification for liquor barons to hold positions in the bodies known in the name of Sree Narayana Guru, who was a crusader against the evils of liquor.

"The fight against brewing and alcohol consumption for Sree Narayana Guru was not just an advise to his followers but an integral part of his social philosophy", Azhikode said. "If liquor barons are allowed to head institutions in the name of Guru, the name of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam should be changed into 'Madya (liquor) Dharma Paripalana Yogam'".

Azhikode said he has written to the chief minister that he was ready to withdraw his resignation if the liquor barons were excluded from the committees.

Ironically, the Ezhavas are traditionally involved in liquor business. They are still known as the toddy-tapper class in Kerala.

The mutt had been witnessing a political battle with the pro-Communist sanyasins trying to prevent the Sangh Parivar section from coming to power. The government had taken over the administration after the pro-BJP sanyasins led by Swami Prakashananda was not allowed to take charge by the other section headed by Swami Saswathikananda. The matter is now under the high court's consideration.

The devotees of the Sree Narayana Guru, meanwhile, are concerned about the politicisation of the mutt. They feel the rival sections have been trying to use the mutt for settling their political scores. Mythreyan, a former sanyasin said that he has stopped intervening in mutt affairs since the crisis owes its origin to money and political power.

The fight, he said, is for the control of wealth, and the mutt has been turning into a hotbed of corruption. "Genuine Sree Narayana devotees have no place here," he told rediff.com.

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